A three-fish bag limit and 24-inch minimum length restriction is in place on the northern pike. There is no closed season.

For additional information, contact DNR in Sterling at (815) 625-2968 or the Le-Aqua-Na State Park at (815) 369-9139.

BUSSE LAKE
Windy City anglers are enjoying great angling in a lake that's close to the city but is surprisingly productive. The DNR manages the lake intensively to provide Chicago-area anglers with good fishing, and according to fisheries biologist Frank Jakubicek, the lake's reputation is well deserved.

The bluegill fishing is best on the southeastern section of the main pool. Busse Lake bluegills are good-sized because of the 10-fish daily creel limit and 8-inch minimum length restriction.

The lake is divided into three separate bodies of water, and you'll have to do some walking to reach the more remote areas. The main pool covers 419 acres; the north pool is 25 acres and the south pool 146 acres. Trails and shoreline access connect the lakes.

Largemouth bass are an option here if you can tempt them to bite. The bass are in the 5-pound, 20-inch range, though most will be smaller. The old creek channel in the main pool can be a good place to start if you can locate some green vegetation under the ice nearby.

Northern pike and walleyes are the mainstay of the south pool. The northerns are stocked and growing well. Pike run 30 inches or better, and the walleyes are reaching 5 or 6 pounds. A big minnow under a bobber attracts pike, and small jig-and-minnow combinations or Repeal ice jigs will take the 'eyes. There is a three-fish limit with a minimum length of 24 inches on the pike and a six-fish, 18-inch minimum length on walleyes.

Channel cats occasionally surprise ice-fishermen. Looking down into your hole and seeing it filled with a big catfish is a pleasant surprise indeed. The cats are in the 24-inch range and six can be taken home at a time.

Look around the area for the fishing walls that were constructed to provide shoreline access to the deepest points in the lakes. These areas are fairly obvious and are great start-off points to drill a few holes and test the waters.

Busse Lake lies in Cook County south of Higgins. Access is from Higgins Road between Interstate 290 and Arlington Heights Road in Schaumburg.

A map showing the submerged fish attractors and locations of the fishing walls is available online at www.ifish illinois.org. For more information, call the DNR's Region II at (708) 771-1570. The Cook County Forest Preserve office can be reached at (800) 870-3666 or online at www.fpdcc.com.

MAZONIA FWA
If you can't find a fishing hole to call your own here, you're not looking. The 2,679-acre FWA has more than 200 ponds and lakes that range between three acres and 150 acres. The strip-mined land has been reclaimed from the days of the Peabody Coal Company and is now a sportsman's paradise.